In 1924 Colleen posed for famed portrait photographer Nickolas Muray. In the early 1920s the photographer had been hailed as a new talent, and before long his portraits were appearing in Harper's Bazaar, Photoplay, and The Theater. He quickly became an important celebrity photographer in New York. In James Wallace Gillies Principles of Pictorial Photography-1923 he described one of the aims of his photographic style thus: "The soft focus lens: yes, but used intelligently. A face clear and characterful and neither befogged or 'hair-line' sharp is the effect I try to achieve." (From Broadway Photographs; http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/index.php?action=showPhotographer&id=26

Colleen Moor photographed by Nickolas Muray in 1924.

He shot a series of photographs of Colleen in a variety of outfits and backgrounds, featuring her now classic Dutch-boy bob hairstyle. One of the images (at right) appeared on the cover of the April-May issue of “The First National Franchise.” Vol. 4 No. 1. It was captioned: COLLEEN MOORE The wonderful First National star who scores the greatest triumph of her career in her latest—‘The Perfect Flapper’.” The image became a classic and was used extensively by First National in her advertising.

"The Perfect Flapper" was released in May, and was the second of her strictly "Flapper" films, as opposed to films with flapper elements in them, It was a busy time for Colleen. John  

He would become irritable. Sometimes he would ask to have a single drink, just to relieve the tension, promising it would go no further than that.. and it usually turned out to be like a dam bursting. He would go on a bender, disappear for a day or two, and usually return out of the blue unshaven and disheveled and apologetic. He became aggressive when he was drunk, had likely seen his share of fights. In spite of being rejected by the draft board, he was still a big man, doubtless intimidating when fired up.

As time wore on Colleen settled into several different coping strategies. At first she accommodated him, thinking that at the root of John's problems was stress, given the energy with which he threw himself into his projects. She would hope that he would blow off a little steam and then return to normal. It never worked. Later she did her best to ignore his  problems at home, cover for him at work during his disappearances. Today, she would be seen as the classic enabler. She came to see his drinking as a sickness, did not realize the drinking  was a symptom of a disorder that would later come to be called bipolar disorder.

Colleen and her brother Cleeve in "The Perfect Flapper."

McCormick's career was on the rise in the First National organization, but as it happens their marriage was off to a rocky start. It would be easy to assume that John's rise was due mostly to his marriage to an actress who had become a Grade A Certified profit machine to the studio, but it would mean dismissing the fact that he also possessed a sharp mind for business and spotting an opportunity. He was usually energetic and charming and everyone in the organization saw his value. However Colleen saw that he  was not always a live wire. 

He would become irritable. Sometimes he would ask to have a single drink, just to relieve the tension, promising it would go no further than that.. and it usually turned out to be like a dam bursting. He would go on a bender, disappear for a

Above, an ad from The Davenport Democrat and Leader of the high-kicking Colleen, June 15, 1924, page 19. On the same page is an article: "Colleen Moore in 'Real' Fight" in which "Blonde hair and brunette fly in all directions...! Silk and satins rip and tear. Feminine eyes fill with the ferocity of mountain lions." All for a scene--said to rival the fight scenes in "The Spoilers" and "Flowing Gold"-- in her upcoming film called "Temperament."

day or two, and usually return out of the blue unshaven and disheveled and apologetic. He became aggressive when he was drunk, had likely seen his share of fights. In spite of being rejected by the draft board, he was still a big man, doubtless intimidating when fired up.

 As time wore on Colleen settled into several different coping strategies. At first she accommodated him, thinking that at the root of John's problems was stress, given the energy with which he threw himself into his projects. She would hope that he would blow off a little steam and then return to normal. It never worked. Later she did her best to ignore his problems at home, cover for him at work during his disappearances. Today, she would be seen as the classic enabler. She came to see his drinking as a sickness, did not realize the drinking was a symptom of a disorder that would later come to be called bipolar disorder.

On May 11th the Los Angeles Examiner ran a story entitled “France Calling Colleen Moore.” Colleen's brother Cleeve, who had had a few small parts in Colleen's films, including  a turn before the lens as one of the swimmers in "Flaming Youth," was trying out for a spot as a swimmer and diver in the American team for the upcoming Olympics. Colleen, according to the story, was looking for a story set in France in hopes that she would be able to watch Cleeve compete. Cleeve was not as certain as she that he was going to make the final cut.